Beacon Sunday Service October 8th 2023

All right. Well, perfect. Welcome to the beacon, everyone. Such a great joy to be able to gather together to worship with everyone here today. Let's just take a quick moment now to rise and greet one another in the Lord. Uh, with grace and peace to you. Grace is the free gift of God, and peace is the result of that. And so may we greet one another with grace and peace to you.

All right. And let us let me just open us up in a word of prayer as we gather ourselves to our seats. Lord, we thank you so much for this opportunity to come before you to worship you. Uh God, you are so good. We thank you so much for just the relationships that you give us here on earth, Lord, that we know that ultimately you have called us to be your sons and daughters. And Lord, this is just a glimpse of heaven, Lord God, here on earth to be able to uh sing together, to worship together, to hear your word. And so just in that way, Lord, would you just be glorified and honored by what we have to offer you today? Because Lord, uh, everything that we have here is already from you, and Lord, you just call us to give it all back unto you.

And so may we do that this morning. Uh, may you be glorified, and in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Let's all rise this morning for our call to worship. It comes from Psalm ninety-five, and it says this. Oh come, let us sing to the Lord. Let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving. Let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise. And let's declare it together. For the Lord is a great God and a great king above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth, the heights of the mountains are his also. Amen. And we were reminded this last week that just to have faith in the fire, because God is greater and he is above all things, and we can put our faith and trust in him.

And so let us sing this morning of just his greatness.

Glory be to our great God be to our great God, we are weak, Lord, we are weak and help us in the soul surround us your angels hold us in your arms, our cold and rude and send on me his pleasure, oh Lord, and he will flee before our sovereign God be to God be to our great God, every creature, let me be turning the sea, and every blind burn, every and value of ear, let all the stars in all the unluya be to our be to our be to our great God, water you turned into wine, open the eyes of the blind, there's no one like you none like you into the darkness you shine out of the ashes we rise, there's no one like you like you, our God is greater, our God and stronger, God, you are higher than any other our God and healer, awesome and power our God, our God into the darkness, into the darkness you shine out of the ashes we rise, there's no one like you, none like our God is greater, our God and stronger, God, you are higher than any other our God and sealer, our power, our God, our God, our God, our God is greater, our God is stronger, God, you are higher than any other healer, awesome in power, our God, our God for us, and if our God is for us, then who could ever stop us?

And if our God is with us, then what could send again? And if our God is for us, then who could ever stop us? And if our God is with us, then what could sin again? What could sin again? Our God is greater, our God is greater, our God is stronger, God, you are higher than any other, our God is healer, our full and power, our God, our God, our God, and our God is greater, our God is stronger, God who are higher than any other, our God and sealer, our human power, our God, our God, and if our God is for us, then who could ever stop us?

And if our God is with us, then what could send again? And if our God is for us, then who could ever stop us? And if our God is with us, then what could send again? What could sin again? This morning we will confess our faith using the new city catechism. In this question and answer, we will confess the hope we have an everlasting life. And here's the question. What hope does everlasting life hold for us? And together, it reminds us that this present fallen world is not all there is.

Amen. That's what we were talking about this morning in our worship team. That life here on earth is so temporary, but we have a home in heaven. So let's continue our worship of Him, just hoping in our Lord Jesus Christ in the hope of heaven.

Did we in our own strength? Did we in our own strength confide? Our striving would be losing the man of God on our side, the man of God's own choosing God has to that may be that's Jesus It is He Lord of Hosts His name from age to angel and he must win the battle and all and all this broad with devil filter threats into one to We will not fear for God hath put his truth to triumph of darkness grim stumble not for him, his faith we can endure, for no instruction, one little word shall fell mighty fortress, a mighty fortress, a rock unfale, a king of glory forever, Amen, war and this in praise, the king of glory forever, amen the word the word above all earthly past.

No thanks to them abide, the spirit and the gifts are through him who with us I could and kindred goes for life, also they may kill God, truth abidest still his kingdom is forever, Amen. Mighty for mighty fortress, the king of glory forever, Amen, war endless agents in throne in praise, the King of Glory forever, Amen, mighty portraits, a mighty portrait of our failing, the king of glory forever, Amen, for in this saint improned in death the King of Gory forever.

Amen.

Good morning, church. I trust that everyone had a great week. And in reflection of that, whether good or bad, we know that there are things that we continue to struggle with on a regular basis. So as we take this time to have our confession of sin both corporately and individually, let's be just transparent to our Lord. He just wants us to confess to him, just to share the struggles that we have or have had in our sin. And just be reassured that this isn't condemnation or guilt because the blood of Jesus has already been shed on our behalf. So let's take this time to have our confession of sin together, and afterward we'll have it individually. So together, have mercy on us, O God, according to your steadfast love, and according to your abundant mercy, blot out our transgressions.

Wash us thoroughly from our iniquity and cleanse us from our sin. We cast aside every idol that raises itself against you. You are our hope and happiness, significance, and security in Jesus' name, Amen. Please be seated. Let's take this time to individually confess our sins to our Lord.

Jesus has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.

And with his wounds, we are healed. Amen. Today's prayer topic I guess revolves around the political climate of today. Whatever your political affiliations are, we're gearing up for elections next year. And so as the primary debates for our next uh you know Republican and Democrat candidate appear and kind of go through this process where all of these uh topics are brought up. Um, it is important for us as a church to still pray for our country and the leadership that comes from these types of things. Um let's just pray for the right leader to emerge and lead our country. It's it's pretty crazy right now. Um, and and there's a lot of persecution happening upon the church. Um and we as Christians are uh we're commanded to endure and to persevere during these times.

Uh, but with that, it's our responsibility to pray over uh our our country, the country that we love and we care for, even in and in that trickle down effect uh effect affects our our state and our city and where we live. Uh so let's just pray that the Lord would just uh choose or let the right leader come out from this process and just kind of help change our country for the better. So let's pray.

Lord, in in scripture, you tell us to submit to our the local authority, to the governmental authority. Lord, we pray, Father, for you to send us the leader that you have chosen for us. As we prepare for a change within our country, and these things, Lord, that we are that are sometimes feels like it's out of our control, Lord. You are in control. We know that you are a God that is sovereign and you know all things that are to happen, Lord. We just pray, Father, for election of the right leader for us to help us overcome the persecution, the change, the issues that we've been kind of struggling with these past few years. And Lord, ultimately, we pray that your will will be done in this country, in our state, our city.

Lord, we thank you for your kingdom, and Lord, we pray, Father, for your will be done. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Um children, you are dismissed. Please enjoy today's Sunday school with teacher Tiffany and teacher Abraham. Um, as the children are being dismissed, let's go over some announcements. Uh first announcement is that Clovia is next week. Uh, so I don't think it affects most of us, but if uh you check their website, make sure that the route, uh your route to church isn't being affected, and if it is, figure out a way uh to come next Sunday. Lighthouse Community Church is hosting a kids' mini conference uh November 11th, nine a.m. to twelve p.m. more information is on their website, or you could ask or talk to Tiff uh directly.

Um I do believe we need to register before we head over. Uh I know that my family is going, and if you're interested, please even let me know too. Uh we are looking for children's ministry volunteers. If you haven't signed up or haven't served in a while and want to know how you could, um, there's always openings, so please let uh Stephen or Tiff know uh when you're available. Uh we'll be kicking off a monthly mid-week worship starting in October. Um, I don't know if actually it's midweek or more geared towards the weekend, like Friday or Saturday, but we wanted to have more intentional time of fellowship where we will go over a word the word together, uh, pray, sing worship, and share a meal.

So more details will be coming. Um, and as usual, our uh offering options are Zell, Venmo, Cash and Check. Um, I have the pleasure of introducing our next guest speaker from Lighthouse Community Church. Um, his name is Francis Chow. Uh, a little bio of him is that he has uh he's married to a white his wife Brianna, and they have two kids, one daughter named Kendall, who's two and a half, and one son named Kyler, who was born August 31st. So congratulations. Uh he was born and raised in Southern California for his whole life. He grew up in Walnut and attended UCLA for undergrad. It was during his college years that God grew a desire for him to be in pastoral ministry. After graduation, he joined Lighthouse as an intern and went to Master's Seminary for his theological training.

He serves as an associate pastor at Lighthouse, overseeing college ministry and church life. Outside of ministry, he enjoys spending time with his family, trying new restaurants, cheering for LA sports, particularly the Lakers, Dodgers, and Bruins. And he loves specialty coffee. Let's take this time to warmly welcome him. Good morning. It's so good to be with you guys. I was just thinking, maybe we should leave out the LA Sports part after last night's Dodger game. Also, we did not name our kids, um, Kendall and Kyler after the Jenners. They just feed us to it. But it's it's good to be with you guys. Uh, we at our staff meetings, um, lighthouse staff meetings every Monday morning. We just go over what happened the previous week and everyone who has come to speak here so far.

They've spoken so fondly of your church and just how warm and a kind you guys have been. So, yeah, I thank you for just partnering with us. We are glad that we can help you in whatever way. Uh, if you guys have your Bibles, will you please uh open with me to 2 Corinthians chapter 5. And why don't we stand as I read from God's Word. Um, we'll focus this morning on uh verses one to five of 2 Corinthians 5, but I'll read from chapter 4 verse 16, and I'll read to 5 verse 10. 2 Corinthians 4, starting in verse 16. So we do not lose heart, though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen, but to the things that are unseen.

For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened, not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body, we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight.

Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him, for we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. This is the word of the Lord. Let's pray. Father, as we turn to your word now, I'm humbled, knowing that my words are inadequate to fully express the glorious hope that we have of heaven. But we thank you for your spirit because he gives us eyes to see.

So help us to have eyes to see things that are unseen and eternal. Minister to us through your word. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Florence Chadwick was an accomplished long-distance swimmer. She was the first woman to swim swim the English Channel in both directions. And on July 4th, 1952, she stepped into the waters of the Pacific Ocean, determined to become the first woman to swim the 26 miles from the Catalina Island, from Catalina Island to the California coast. And the weather on that day was terrible. The water was numbingly cold. It was foggy everywhere. There was as she was swimming, there was a couple of support boats that kind of flanked either side of her. Her parents were on that boat, as well as even a crew armed with rifles to shoot at sharks that were there.

About 14 hours in, she began to doubt whether she would make it. And her mom and her coach uh encouraged her from the boat to keep on swimming, and that gave her enough of a boost to swim for another almost two hours. But 15 hours and 55 minutes in, she couldn't do it any longer. And her body was just completely worn out, completely exhausted, and land was nowhere in sight. The fog was so thick, she had no idea how much longer that she needed to go, and she requested to be taken out of the water. And she immediately regretted it. Because as soon as she got on that boat, she discovered that the shore was less than half a mile away. And at a news conference the next day, this reporter interviewed her on what happened, and she said that all I could see was the fog.

And I'm not excusing myself, but I think that if I could have seen the shore, then I would have made it.

Now that story teaches us something I think that is true of all of life. That how you think about the future is going to affect how you live right now. Whatever your vision of the future is, whatever that destination, whatever that shore is that you are swimming towards, however near or far you think it is from you, it is going to affect how you live right now. And so let me ask you what is that destination for you? Like, what is that shore that you feel like you are swimming towards? It could be big things, it can be small things, it could be more immediate things, or maybe longer term things. Maybe for you it is a certain life milestone. If you're a student, maybe it's graduation or it's just the next move in your career.

Uh kids settling down somewhere, retirement. Uh perhaps it's something to do with the current circumstances in your life. Just relief from a busy season. Maybe even as a church, you think, okay, we just like we want stability, right? Or we want the next thing to happen for us in the life of our church. Maybe it's something as simple as the next weekend or your next vacation or your get together with friends. Whatever it is that comes into your mind for your vision of the future is going to affect, or if not already, affect the way that you were living right now. If you live for the weekend, then Monday and Friday will feel less enjoyable and more like drudgery. If you live for that career move, that career path, it's going to affect how much time you put into work or into your studies as opposed to time for other people.

If the future that you were hoping for is some sort of financial stability or independence, then it's going to affect how you spend your money, right? Or how you don't spend your money right now. Our passage, 2 Corinthians was written by the Apostle Paul, and what was happening in this letter was there were these people outside the church, these false teachers who had come in, people who were stronger, who were more eloquent, who were more impressive. Paul even refers to them as super apostles in 2 Corinthians 11 5, and they began to question and they began to undermine Paul's ministry. And this actually caused some in the church to start to doubt Paul a little bit. And these were believers that Paul had this long-standing relationship with, uh, people who he ministered to with his life.

He poured his blood, sweat and tears into these people, and all of a sudden they started to doubt him a little bit and waver in their loyalty and devotion to him. And maybe you've been there before, maybe you've had people uh kind of just turn their back on you a little bit, and so you can start to relate a little bit to what Paul is experiencing. And yet, if you read throughout 2 Corinthians, uh he says some very profound things, right? Chapter 4, he says, we do not lose heart. Uh in the passage we read, he says, we are of good courage. He says, My outer self is wasting away, but my inner self is being renewed day by day. And you think to yourself, how is this possible? If you think about all the things that were happening to him, all his friends are turning on him.

How can he say things like this? And it's because Paul had this crystal clear vision of the future. He could see the shore, right? He could see the shore and the hope of glory and the reality of heaven. And for someone like Paul, whose life was put on the line each and every day for the sake of the gospel, this vision of eternity was everything for him. And so for us, if we want to live faithfully for Christ in this life today, then each of us also needs to be convinced of the hope of eternity. I mean, have you ever considered that maybe one of the reasons why you struggle to live for Christ right now is because you don't have this rock solid hope of where you are going. C.S. Lewis puts it like this.

If you read history, you will find that the Christians who did the most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this one. And so in our passage, Paul wants to whet our appetites for heaven. He wants to show us that as Christians, we have this future that is better, that is more sure, more ultimate, more satisfying, more glorious. We have this hope in heaven and in the life to come, and that means everything for our lives right now. Okay, so we'll take this in two parts. One is our future glory, and then this present groaning. So we'll start with point number one, our future glory.

Hopefully, as we were reading, you notice some of the contrast that Paul mentioned throughout this passage. Especially towards the end of chapter four, he says, inner self or outer self, inner self, wasting away, being renewed, this light momentary affliction, this eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, seen versus unseen, transient versus eternal. And then when we get to verse one of chapter five, uh he gives us another contrast. And I think this is kind of the summary verse that he's expanding on for the rest of our passage. Verse one, he says, For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

Okay, so there's two contrasting dwellings there, right? There is a tent and there is a building. And with those two pictures specifically, he's talking about our physical bodies. Okay. The bodies that we have in this life, he says our earthly home are like a tent. And uh, if you're familiar with the Old Testament, there's some significance to that imagery with the Israelites wandering through the wilderness with the tabernacle or with the tent. But even if you didn't know that, we still get the idea here, right? Because maybe you've been camping before and you stayed in a tent. And uh you gave up your nice, soft, comfortable bed at home, and you slept in the sleeping bag, and an air mattress on the floor.

Uh you gave up the air and conditioning in your house, and you just you went with whatever protection, you know, like this nylon covering offered to you. Uh you gave up your phone. Just you didn't give up your phone. It is okay, right? Because it was just a few nights, and pretty soon you know that even when you're camping, you would be back in your nice warm bed, and pretty soon you would have your TV remote and you have Netflix and you would have uh Wi-Fi and you would have a fridge that was stocked with food. And there is no expectation when you were camping that this tent would be where you would live forever. Well, Paul says that's how we need to think about our bodies. That's how we need to think about our lives here on this earth, that they are temporary, uh, they are not built to last.

A tent might be where you stay for a little while, but is not meant to be home. And I think all of us, if we have uh really stopped to think, if we have experienced enough life, we have experienced this, right? The temporary fleeting nature of this life. And we know that things break and that there are uh inconveniences, and that even your best days that they don't last. Right? We've experienced uh how life is like a tent. But it's not even just that our bodies are tattered and they get worn down, but verse one, Paul says that they get destroyed. So he's he's talking about death there. That one day God will call time, and then you will breathe your last, and these earthly tents, they will give out because of death.

And death means that everything in this life will come to an end. Now let me ask you, is this how you think about your life? Like an earthly tent? Do you think about how the how you are just a traveler, you are just passing through? Do you give enough thought to the fact that one day that you will die and this life is temporary and it is fleeting? And James says that your life is a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Or Psalm 90, verse 12, it says, Teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. That is one of one of the most important things you can learn in this life. And if you really get that this is what life is like on this side of eternal eternity, that it is like a tent, then it sets us up for what Paul says next, right?

He says, We have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. So if tents are temporary, then buildings are permanent. And in verse 2 to 4, Paul expands more on what this building is. And in these verses, we actually get sort of like a mini eschatology lesson here. But what I want you to see here is just how glorious the reward of eternity will be. So in verse 2, he says, For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling. And then he switches metaphors, okay, from a dwelling to clothing, verse 3. He says, If indeed by putting it on, we may not be found naked, for while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened, not that we would be unclothed, but that we will be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.

Now I know that's a little bit confusing, but what Paul brings up there is what we call the intermediate state. Okay, and kind of just in a nutshell, uh, when believers die before Christ returns, your body and your soul are separated, and you are immediately brought into the presence and fellowship with Christ. You think of Luke 23, where uh Christ says to the thief on the cross, today you will be with me in paradise. Right? Or in our passage, verse 8, uh, Paul says, away from the body and at home with the Lord. But Paul's hope here, it doesn't just end there, right? That the story doesn't just end with us being disembodied souls, uh, as Paul puts it, not just with us being found, but naked or unclothed, we're not just floating around in the clouds, although that is the picture a lot of people think about heaven, right?

But rather, Paul says, when Christ returns and when we are fully and finally glorified, we will be further clothed. We will receive new perfect resurrection bodies, and we will enjoy them in this perfect physical realities, the new heavens and the new earth. That was just what we read in the confession. In fact, what Paul is saying here is if it were up to him, he would fast forward to that part. Right? Let's just skip the disembodied souls part. Let's get to that part. Now, what is the significance of that? Why does it matter that we get these new bodies in a new heaven and a new earth? Like after all, isn't heaven heaven? I like how one theologian explains it. He says, If the promised final future is simply that immortal souls leave behind their mortal bodies, then death still rules.

Since that is a description not of the defeat of death, but simply of death itself.

See, I think something we need to realize is that even though death is universal, even though death happens to all of us, that it is not natural. For us, we think that, okay, we're living here right now, and then one day we are going to die. But death should not exist if it were not for sin. Right? Sin is why everything is so messed up. Sin is why this creation has strayed so far from what God has created to be. And so this future that Paul is talking about is this complete reversal of all of that, a complete reversal of death and sin in all of its effects. Um, there's this line in uh joy to the world. It says, No more let sins and sorrows grow, nor thorns infest the ground. He comes to make his blessings flow far as the curse is found.

That is what Paul is talking about here, that truly everything will be made right. No, I think um, if you think back to the pandemic and being stuck on Zoom, I think one of those things that uh that time taught us is we realized that no matter how amazing technology is, no matter how clear the video might be of the other person on the other side, uh, we were created for embodied relationships. Right? And so even though we were stuck on our laptops or whatever, like we could not wait to see each other face to face again in person. And it's not a perfect illustration, but on that day when we stand before God face to face with our resurrection bodies, bodies that are not just free from the aches and the pains of aging and sickness and disease, but bodies that are also free from sin and corruption and temptation, bodies that no longer get in the way of perfect and unbroken fellowship with God.

But we will realize on that day that that is how it was meant to be. I mean, so that means that death is no longer our great enemy, but it is God's servant. That is the Apostle Paul says, death is a departure, it is leaving one place and going home. Death becomes the day not when we stop living, but when we truly begin to live and to live with the one that we were made to live for.

And so if that is what you get later on, then how does that transform the way that you live right now? When you consider the things that you do each day, when you think about your priorities and your goals, when you think about the way that you use your time, your resources, when you think about your relationships or the things that stress you out or keep you up at night, the things that might be on your bucket list, does this glorious reality of heaven help give you some perspective? You know, I think that description of a house not made with hands. I think that is so fitting. That that phrase a house not made with hands, it means or it kind of represents human effort. Okay, it's something that is designed and built by man.

Um it spoke of the temple in the Bible. And so for so many of us, that's I think what we consume ourselves with doing with our own lives right now, right? We want to build our own lives with our own hands. And we spend so much energy trying to build our lives, trying to make sure that they are put together, trying to make sure that they are comfortable and stable. We think to ourselves, um, you know, academic achievements, one brick, or like sports, another brick, or relationships, a significant other marriage, another brick. Money in my bank account, another brick. Vacations, traveling, retirement, another brick. What does Paul say? He says, No matter what, this life is a tent. So don't get too comfortable.

You were not made for this life, but for the one to come. Is there something that you miss or that you fear missing out on? What are those things that are hard for you to give up for the sake of following Jesus because you just want to enjoy them in this life? Do you think to yourself, oh, am I not going to be able to experience or to do this thing that I've been hoping for my entire life? Maybe you look around at your friends and it seems like they're accomplishing these things or they're they're getting these things and you don't, and you think to yourself, oh, am I like, am I getting left behind? You know, am I ever going to have this for myself? Does the hope of heaven offer you some perspective?

You know, if this earthly tent is all that you get, then yes, you better do everything that you can to keep it. Right? You better live your life to the fullest right now. But that's not about all that we get. We get a building from God. We get something that is so much better, so much more permanent. And so you don't have to get it all right now. Rather than building and spending this life for yourself right now, you are free to spend it for the gospel, for people's eternal joy, for the sake of others. I think that's why Paul can genuinely say in 2 Corinthians 4 17 that these losses are light and momentary. And he's not minimizing the hard parts of this life. He's drawing a comparison. He's saying, if you were to put these things on a scale, the eternal weight of glory which is coming for you, it far outweighs what you can experience on the other side.

But friends, we're not there yet. So what are we doing in the meantime as we look forward to eternity? This is our second point, this present groaning. Paul says, the first thing that we are doing as we wait is that we groan. Okay, look at verse 2 again. He says, For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling. Uh verse 4, he says, While we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened. And if you read throughout the Bible, in one sense, this groaning isn't just specific to us as believers. Uh Romans 8 22 says the entire creation is groaning, uh, as it as in the pains of childbirth for this new heavens and this new earth. For us, we we see broken families and marriages and and racism and unrest, and we groan.

Or we get the news from the doctor and we groan. Or we study hard and we work hard, and the results still don't go your way, and you groan. I mean, you can even be living a relatively uh fulfilling life, a comfortable life, and you still groan. We all experience this, don't we? We groan in this life. And even this morning, what are some things in your own life that are causing you to do that? To groan for rest and relief and something better and something more lasting. Well, what makes us as believers different? There's something else that we're doing. Look at verse one again. He says, We groan and we know. What do we know, verse one? We know that we have a building from God. We know that we have our resurrection bodies.

And notice that that word have is in the present tense, even though he's talking about a future reality. Right? He doesn't say we will have. He says we have present tense. Why does he do that? Because this isn't just wishful thinking. This is confident expectation. He does the same thing in Romans 8:30. He says, Those whom he predestined, he also called and justified and glorified past tense, right? Speaking of a future reality. That's how sure it is. And so to borrow the words of 1 Thessalonians 4.13, what makes us different from the world is we don't groan as those who have no hope. I like how one person described hope. He said, Hope is a present possession of what is still future because of the certainty of the promise.

A present possession of what is still future because of the certainty of the promise.

But we groan because we maximize the eternal weight of glory as we eagerly anticipate it. We groan because we say, Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly. And yet, if you think about it, if you're honest with yourself, that's not what characterizes many of our present experience. Right? We don't groan. Have you concerned yourself so much with this life that you don't have any time to think of the next? Have you grown, have you grown so content with the world that you don't groan, that you don't really long for eternity? Or are the only things that you groan about, the things that keep you from making a heaven out of this life? Right? The things that seem to inconvenience you right now. We spent so much time throughout our days and weeks meditating on and taking in the things of this world.

And it's like we have stuffed ourselves with junk food and we just have lost our appetite for the feast that is waiting for us in heaven. And for others of you, maybe it's not the good times that cloud, your vision of eternity, maybe it is the hard times. It's not the comforts of today, but it is suffering and it is discouragement. And so, where do we find hope and confident expectation if that's you, verse five? Paul says, He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. Um, that word there, guarantee is the idea of a down payment. You can kind of think of an engagement ring. Um, or in Ephesians 1, 13 to 14, Paul says that you have been sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.

It is this deposit that is given to us now as this promise of something better that is still to come. And Paul says that is what the Spirit is like for you, this guarantee of what is to come. But it's not just this like passive thing, like God is just throwing cash at us and just saying, Here, I'll give you like the rest later on. Okay, it is this active preparation. It is God giving us Himself in the Spirit. And what does He do? What is the Spirit do? Well, He gives us eyes of faith, right? To see God's promise. Um, in 2 Corinthians 4.18, the verse we read, Paul says, We look not to the things that are seen, but to the things that are unseen. Have you ever thought about that verse? Like, how do we look at things that are unseen?

Well, we see them with eyes of faith. Right? We see them because of the spirit. He allows us to see these truths and remember them. What else does he do? He produces fruit in our lives. Things like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, and perhaps not perfectly, right? Or not, you just you're not like transformed all of a sudden and just perfect, but he produces those presently from one degree of glory to the next. And we can look at this fruit in your life, and you can look at it as assurance that God is working in you, right? That he is with you, that he is not done with you, he will keep you until the end. What else does the Spirit do? He helps us to pray when we don't know how.

We don't have adequate words to express our groanings that we feel, the Spirit intercedes for us, Romans 8.27. And one day, that same spirit who raised Jesus from the dead will raise you up to your new perfect resurrection body, Romans 8.11. I mean, that is just a small sampling of what the Spirit does in your life right now. That is just a small sampling of how the Spirit is your guarantee. How God is preparing you actively with you as you look forward to that day. Listen, I know that the time in this life, it is short, just the blink of an eye compared to eternity. But I also know that a lifetime of faithfulness, a lifetime of fighting sin and hoping for eternity, it can feel long. Right?

It can feel tiring and wearying. And you think to yourself, am I going to make it? Right? Am I gonna just like I'm so tired from fighting sin every day, from going through this every day? And you think to yourself, like, I don't know if I'm gonna be able to make it. And God's answer by his spirit is, I'm with you. He is my guarantee. From beginning to the end, I will see you through. And that includes even in our suffering. Verse 5 says that he who has prepared us for this very thing, right? This this glorious future is God. And that word prepared, if you look back in chapter 4, verse 17, it's the same word for this light, momentary affliction is preparing us for internal weight of glory beyond all comparison.

In other words, part of God's personal preparation of you for eternity includes the presence of affliction. Afflictions are not, they're not just there, they don't just randomly happen to you, but they are intentional and they are purposeful. Maybe for you this morning, one of the honest questions that you can wrestle with is why can't I have both? You know, why can't I have it good in this life and the life later on? Maybe you look around to yourself and you look around, and there seems like there's other people at this church or your friends that you know who are Christians and they seem like they have comfortable lives, and they get that same hope of heaven that you do, right? Like, why can't that be you?

I know that going through affliction is hard. And we might not know why or how it works, and we will not know until heaven, but I think that this passage at least begins to show us that the trials and the heartache and the disappointments and the suffering that you experience, that they are not meaningless. Because that word preparation, it means thoughtful intentionality. It means that they are, it is better that you experience them than that you don't experience them. Because they are part of how God is preparing you, right? Somehow, some way, in God's perfect love and wisdom, they are making you more fit for heaven. I mean, can we just take God at His Word with that? You see, both of our points, our future glory and these present groanings, they work together to help us long for eternity more.

It's not just having this clear vision of the glorious perfection of heaven, but at the same time, it is the lived experience of the imperfections of earth. It is experiencing how utterly far from perfect this life is. And so, if that is true, then wouldn't it make sense that those who understand the most, those who suffer the most here are best prepared to enjoy heaven. Have you ever seen those videos on the internet of someone who experiences for the first time, uh, like experiences hearing for the first time, right? Or experiences seeing color for the first time. And they have this disability, but because of just like amazing advancements in technology, all of a sudden they can just experience this thing they've never had before, right?

Whether that's color or vision or hearing or whatever it might be. And you just like watch their reactions, and it's just so heartwarming. And it just makes you think to yourself, like, man, I really take these things for granted. Right? Like, I like, I have no idea what that's like. Or I think of someone, maybe you know someone like this who has been confined in the hospital for for weeks or months. And when they leave that hospital room, they can go outside, they are just so overjoyed to finally feel like the sun on their skin again. They can feel the wind, what that feels like. You know, I think that is a small picture of how our sorrows here on earth prepare us for the glories there in heaven.

Tim Challies, uh, he describes it like this. He says that we know that heaven will be a wonder for all who are admitted, that it will be a place of perfect peace and satisfaction for all who enter its gates. But surely heaven will be a greater wonder still for those whose joys are fewest, whose sorrows were deepest, whose earth was most distant from heaven. And our sufferings prepare us, and somehow they're making us more fit for eternity with God. John Calvin in his commentary on this passage, he talks about how we need more than just this kind of general and vague impersonal persuasion of eternity. And it is not enough to have this future vision that doesn't impact each of us specifically and personally.

He says, How very little service this would be for affording a consolation. On the contrary, everyone must have a knowledge peculiar to himself. For this and this only can animate to can animate me to meet death with cheerfulness if I am fully persuaded that I am departing to a better life. Brothers and sisters, as we've gone through this passage, hopefully you see just all of the resources at our disposal that we might be confident, right as we look forward to eternity. But even knowing all of that, I confess that it's hard to consider heaven as much as I should. That it's hard to be fully persuaded, as Calvin says, that I am indeed departing to a better life. And for me, when I think about myself, when I think about my family, um, I mean, we're relatively young, we have young kids.

It feels like we are just getting started, right? Like we're just like starting to put our roots down, a lot of new beginnings. You know, it's easy to get comfortable. And I look around and I I mean, this is a relatively young congregation, I think. It's easy to long for things in this life rather than the other side of heaven. And so I'm thankful for just one more gift or one more resource that God has given to us to remind us of heaven, and it's the church. We have other brothers and sisters in Christ who provide us wake-up calls and fresh reminders of this reality. You know, I am so thankful for times that we get to sing as God's church together. We get to sing just rich, beautifully written songs.

We get to sing words like, haste thee on from grace to glory, armed by faith and winged by prayer, heaven's eternal days before me, God's own hand shall guide us there. Soon shall close thy earthly mission, soon shall pass thy pilgrim days, hope shall change to glad fruition, faith to sight, and prayer to praise. Right? I love the times that we get to sing together. You know, I'm thankful for examples of brothers and sisters who are generous in their giving. Because they remind me that it's better to lay up treasures in heaven where where moth and rust don't destroy, where thieves cannot break in and steal, that is more blessed to give than to receive. I need examples from friends who devote their lives to missions because they remind me that it is worth packing up your life, moving across the world, going somewhere where there's not a lot of Christians to preach the gospel to those who haven't heard it.

I'm so thankful for missionaries like that. You know, I need examples of those who deal with chronic pain, um, those who deal with long-term disability because they feel the aches and the pains of these earthly tents on a daily basis, and and I don't experience that up as much, right? But I need to be reminded through their example, they long for the new resurrection body better than I do. I need examples of those who struggle so faithfully with sin. You know, I have a friend at Lighthouse. Uh, he struggles with unwanted same-sex attraction, and he is committed to living a life of holiness and faithfulness unto God. And I asked him, hey, brother, can you share with me uh what the hope of heaven means to you?

Because I look at your life and I see you fighting sin so faithfully, right? And it's it's this unique struggle, and you groan for the renewal of all things better than I do. And I texted him this, and this is what he said to me. It's he's he's a great writer, so I'll just read exactly what he said. He said, Heaven is rest. Rest from self-hate and discouragement and frustration and jealousy and loneliness and accusation and battling the desires of the flesh. Heaven is relief from tearful nights of lament and grief. Days and days of asking why and how long. To consider the reality of heaven is to see that God has not left me asking how long, day after day without an answer. To remember the end is to remember that God hasn't left me to suffer alone without purpose or without end.

And on the day when I receive my resurrection body, free of any stain of sin and corruption and temptation, all the fighting and striving and waiting and crying and pleading and denying self and taking up my cross will all have been so, so worth it. It will be worth it. And not simply because I am free from those rogue attractions, but because in the years and years of waiting, God was proving that Christ and the gospel was sufficient. That is truth that gets me up in the morning when I'm tired of fighting sin, when my heart yearns for things that I cannot have. This is truth that helps me deny myself, take up my cross, and follow him when I want to go my own way. What is another day of suffering in comparison to eternal fellowship with God?

Heaven is proof that we'll all be worth it in the end. Brother, sister, are you here this morning and are you weary from waking up each morning and life just feels like it hurts? And are you tired from struggling with sin and temptation? Are you tired from just fighting and failing and fighting and failing again? Can he exhort you this morning to keep going? Get up and keep going. Because you will not fight and fail forever. Do you know what is forever? Heaven and eternity is forever. Being with Christ is forever. And so for all of us, we need the collective groaning of God's people. We need the church to remind us of that as we look forward together. And I need you, we need each other to remind us that we are not home yet, but we are almost there.

If you're here and you haven't yet placed your faith in Jesus Christ, I'm guessing that like the rest of us, you groan because you experience the reality of living in a fallen world. And maybe you have a lot of questions about that, about sin and suffering, but one undeniable thing that that shows us is that something is broken, that things are not the way that they should be, but those groanings are meant to point us somewhere, right? To point us to a person and to point us to a place, to Jesus Christ who offers the solution to the fallenness of this world and to the future hope of glory when one day everything will be made right. And for those of us who are believers, we need to live in such a way that shows the world that our hope is not in this life.

I mean, look at what Paul says in verse 10. He says, We walk by faith and not by sight. We are of good courage, whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to place him. And so while God would have us here, Paul says we are just earthly tents. We are just jars of clay, but we possess this treasure, the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ. We know the person and we know the place that our groanings are meant to point us to. We know the joy and anticipation of eternity, a new heavens and a new earth in our resurrection bodies where sin and death have been completely undone. And so if you want to live faithfully for Jesus, let me exhort you to start by considering that day. Can you see the shore?

Because that vision helps us, gives us some perspective. That life is short, that heaven is real, that people need the gospel, that Jesus is worth it, that we're not home yet. The best is yet to come. Let's pray. Father, I'm sure that in this room there are many that haven't pondered eternity in heaven recently, or often enough. We confess that many of us have trouble looking beyond this life because we are so easily captivated by the things of this world. I'm sure there are some here who are suffering. And though you promise us that suffering is light and momentary compared compared to eternal weight of glory that is waiting for us, for some of us here, it feels anything but that. And so, Father, minister the hope of heaven to each of our hearts that we might live more faithfully for you.

Amen. Amen. Thank you so much for the word, and uh just reminding us of our future home in heaven, that this life here on earth is temporal. And uh we're actually gonna sing uh we're actually gonna sing together Jesus at my cross have taken. And I just want to uh this is totally unplanned, but uh obviously planned by God providentially, but I just want to read the lyrics of that last verse. Um haste thee on from grace to glory, armed by faith and winged by prayer, heaven's eternal days before thee, God's own hand shall guide thee there. Soon shall close thy earthly mission, soon shall pass thy pilgrim days, hope shall change to glad fruition, faith to sight and prayer to praise. Can we all rise and sing this together in response and just look forward to the hope of heaven, Jesus on my cross Jesus my cross have taken all to be to spot thou from his shall be perish my shit has the wolf that the world spice and leaving may have left my Savior see thou are not like all thou smile meeting God will start me go then earthly fame we go then earthly payment.

Come to disaster pain in that service pain with thy faith. I have called thee. I have saved my heart on thee. Storms may have good. So then know thy full salvation. So then know thy full.

Joy to find something still to be what's bealty.

Shall of heaven can hasty on grace to glory on by faith and wing by prayer and eternal days before thee. God's own hand shall guide thee, soon shall close thy earthly shall pass home shall change to glad and pray to pray.

Be with you, and may you leave this place as people who have our eyes fixed on eternity, who groan faithfully for the hope to come that we might live faithfully today.